Under Red Covers
by teaandcookies1000
Summary: They made themselves comfortable and Jane already got jealous by only thinking about Lisbon's partner. He hoped that guy would have as good manners as he had and would sleep on the couch, otherwise... he didn't know what he'd do yet, but it wouldn't look nice for Pike... The team goes undercover to solve a case. Based on some spoilers.. Definitely gonna be Jisbon later on:D
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys:) This is will be a multichapter since I've got time this and next week, yay to that;) I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it:) Reviews are very appreciated :P:D**

Jane was sitting on the couch in his new airstream trailer, drinking his cup of tea which he was drinking every morning and looking out of the window, a small smile on his face. It was a nice day and there was snow outside, it had been very cold lately and it must've snowed during the night. Snow in Texas wasn't something that happened often. It was a pretty big surprise for everyone and the cities weren't used to it, he knew it. But at least he'd have it warm and comfy in his trailer, which was having a heater and also he had his tea. No need to feel cold.

He loved the snow and he hadn't seen real snow in ages. He suddenly felt the urge of building a snowman and right when he had put on his jacket and warm shoes, his phone rang. Fisher's picture appeared on the screen.

"Yes?" he asked her a little bit annoyed, not in the mood of having to work another case, since there was finally something exciting happening, something that got him busy with anything except work. He would've loved playing in the snow like a 6 year old, but he had duties.

When he arrived at the office everyone was already sitting in the conference room. Jane wondered what kind of case it would be to day, since they had worked a few interesting ones before. Anyway, the killer had never been smart enough to beat Jane. At least that's what he liked to think, that he was the smartest person in the room. And it was true most of the time, so there was no problem in thinking it.

He opened the door to the aquarium (that's what they called the conference room now) and entered. Everyone looked up and Fisher said in her usual tone: "Finally, Jane. Sit down." and pointed to an empty chair next to Lisbon. When he looked around, he noticed that there were a few people he didn't know. "Lisbon who are they?" he whispered as he leaned closer to her. Fisher who had heard the question answered for Lisbon.  
"This" she pointed to a young small man in a black suit on the other side of the table"is Special Agent Sheron Waltron." The man made a short nod into Jane's direction. "And next to him, that's Special Agent Pike and Lorence."

Pike smiled and Lorence lifted his hand to a half-wave.  
Those FBI agents were something Jane didn't get. They all acted as if they were stiff puppets, being controlled by one mighty force, the government. They talked about the case for 10 more minutes, but Jane didn't really pay attention. His mind was still outside, making little snowmen in the white fluff.

"Jane, we have decided that since this case is really complicated and the suspects are too many to interrogate one by one, that the team, including you, will go undercover." That sounded like fun. "Where are we gonna do this?" he asked curiously.

"It's a big hotel where there's an art gallery at the moment." Abbott answered.

" Rich sacks without brains and attracted to expensive paintings? Sounds good!"

Lisbon looked at him, trying to hide the smirk that was burning in the corners of her mouth and Fisher rolled her eyes.

"We would all appreciate it if you didn't say this to them."

"Noted." he said and already planned on embarrassing them all.

The same day in the afternoon they were on their way to the hotel, which was a few hours away. There were Lisbon, Pike, Fisher and him since the rest of the team plus Lorence would be staying at the office. The four of them had gone home to pack their bags for a 3 day "vacation", also being informed that they'd need some dress-up clothes. Jane was supposed to be a man in a midlife-crisis (it had been Fisher and Lisbon's idea) who liked surfing and long walks on the beach. His new girlfriend Abby (Fisher)was a rich woman, who was very interested in art. Her best friend Lizz (Lisbon) with her fiance (Pike) was an art criticizer of a local newspaper, who had invited all of them.

So that was their backstory and Jane could already taste the fun.

They had never been undercover before, so there was a reason to be highly excited for him. When they had arrived at the meeting point everyone had been in disguise already. Apparently Lisbon had decided to use her amazing hat and black coat once again, she had left the sunglasses out this time though.

He had to admit that she looked really good in those dark colors, but he had known that before. Fisher was wearing a flowery dress, which was peeking out under the long brown fluffy Jacket she was wearing, her hair beneath a warm hat. She looked good, but no one could even come close to Lisbon, no matter how hard they'd try.

So they were sitting in the car, having spent almost half an hour of the car ride trying hard to keep talking, but the conversation slipped several times. When they were finally there everyone got out of the vehicle as fast as possible. That had been one uncomfortable journey.

They got their rooms, of course Jane had to share his with Fisher as a part of the operation. He thanked god when he saw that there was a couch that looked pretty comfortable, which meant they wouldn't have to share a bed as well. Had he been with the other woman, he wouldn't have had a problem with the whole situation.

When they had brought it up before he had protested a bit, why he couldn't be Lisbon's partner, but they had given him a reasonable explanation. One trained FBI agent with one untrained, to keep the balance. He understood and so he had stopped being annoying and had accepted his fate, although he planned to let Fisher suffer for the midlife-crisis she had burdened him with.

No one should be forced into a crisis like that.

They made themselves comfortable and Jane already got jealous by only thinking about Lisbon's partner. He hoped that guy would have as good manners as him and would sleep on the couch, otherwise... he didn't know what he'd do yet, but it wouldn't look nice for Pike.

Also if he would try hitting on Lisbon...

Jealousy kicked in like a punch in the stomach and made him feel all sick and angry, it had been a long time since he had felt that way, but it wasn't a nice feeling at all. He was in a bad situation here and when he realized he felt even worse. He knew that she'd have to figure it out on her own and that it really wasn't any of his concern and stuff, but he made it his problem, because he cared so much. He just wanted to shut it all off, like switching off the lights he wanted to switch off all those feelings that got hold of him and he just wanted to exist without the constant itch of jealousy and fright in his soul.

He stretched out on the couch, his hands placed on his chest, and looked up to the ceiling. This couch wasn't as comfortable as his brown leather couch in the bullpen, but barely any couch managed to get close to the softness of the brown cushion. It was a pity, but what could he do...

He must've fallen asleep, because when Fisher woke him up again later it was already dark outside. "Jane, we have to go to that dinner tonight and after that there's that gallery we have to visit."

"Will they have scrambled eggs?" he asked sleepily.

"I think so. But we're having dinner and not breakfast, just so that you know." she said looking a bit confused, but she hid it well. "Yes of course, that's what you said before... Still I'll have my scrambled eggs." The FBI agent rolled her eyes, once again. After working with him for a few years she would've super flexible eyeballs he figured. At least one positive consequence.

When they opened the door to the hallway to meet with the other "couple", he noticed that Lisbon's and Pike's room was on the opposite of his and Fisher's.

That was one nice coincidence. At least she wouldn't be that far away.

Fisher, who still had the same dress on, got to the door on the opposite and knocked three times. He had noticed that she had redone her make up, a bit more intense this time, fitting for the occasion. After a short time Pike exited the room, Lisbon after him only a few meters behind.

She wore a black, stunning dress, her lips red and her long wavy hair flowing down her back. Pike wore his usual suit and Jane had eventually managed to put on a tie. He didn't like them, but he had to look acceptable, so he had done it.

Lisbon though... he stared at her and couldn't stop. He had thought that she was gorgeous before but now she just looked amazing. She noticed that he was staring at her and blushed a bit, turned to Fisher and said "We should go, shouldn't we?" Pike and Fisher mumbled yes and Fisher shot Jane a curious look.

"Don't forget to breath"


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again!:) I am going to try to upload the following chapter this week, as soon as possible since I got time now;) yay. And you guys rock! I was super happy about all the encouraging reviews I got and I wanna say thank you for that!:D Please continue letting me know what you think, I really appreciate it! Have fun reading: )**

The dinner and the gallery had been really nice. Jane had indeed eaten his scrambled eggs and later Lisbon had tried her best to look like she knew a lot about art.

It had been hilarious for Jane to watch, because she used her skeptical glance a few times and people had taken her seriously, although they didn't even know who she was. When no one was around he teased her with her performance once or twice, made bored noises or compared the pictures with animals, to make it short, he got on everyone's nerves, including Pike's although he had only known him for a couple of hours.

Fisher was watching from the side with the special agent next to her, they seemed to be pretty annoyed and amused too, but they managed to hide it that well, that only Jane thought could see through their facades.

The team came in contact with 2 of the suspects that evening, which was interesting but nothing more, because they were boring people. One of them was single and worked as a security person at the hotel with the job to look after the expensive paintings so that no one could steal them. The man, Harvey, was dressed in black and the only thing he could tell them was the really good alibi he had a for the night the murder had happened. He had been at an event, to be precisely it had been a concert, a few miles away from the homicide. They decided that for now they'd believe it, would let Wiley check it though.

Fisher and Pike had gone to the kitchen to talk with the chef, the second suspect. After they had split up Jane and Lisbon were alone, at least for now.

They hadn't really talked that much since they had arrived at the hotel, but mostly because there hadn't been time yet, but also because Jane didn't really know what to say.

But he wanted her to feel good, not guilty or anything else, so couldn't help it and stared at her while she was looking at the art work.

He had noticed lately that it had gotten harder to hide all those feelings and urges he had suppressed before. The last time he hadn't managed to control them he had been sitting in the car and asked Lisbon about her date, bluntly, just like that! Why he'd done it? He didn't know. And he had been embarrassed and some kind of hurt, but of course no one had noticed, because he had hidden it, again. This one date though... it had really flipped a switch in his brain! Like suddenly it had gotten so clear! As if a thick mist had been lifted off his mind he had come to realize that he wanted her not only as a friend, but also as a lover.

"Lisbon?" he asked her, not quite sure what he even wanted to ask, but he was bored...

She turned around, her big eyes looking at him, the green shimmering in the light.

"What is it Jane?" she asked him, friendly and was surprised to see him speechless for the first time in ages.

"Oh, nothing, sorry." he answered her. He felt so dumb and embarrassed that he looked away and surveid the paintings confused by his own behavior.

In Jane's opinion they looked just like children's drawings, but that's what art had developed to lately, in some sad cases. Anyone could do it. Even he could become a famous artist as long as his name got popular and that wouldn't be that hard since a bunch of people already knew him. He could be a rich old sack too, but he didn't feel the urge to do so. There was nothing that made him wanna be rich, nor poor. He just felt like he belonged where he was. Right here with her, that was all he'd ever need and all he'd ever want. To be with Lisbon. But there were still things to do to make his dream come true.

Step one, making sure she was still single after the case.

As he got bored, he started observing Lisbon's actions as a art critic.

He was pretty sure that she just improvised at knowing art, because her eyes didn't linger on the pieces long enough. But that were just small issues and no one would really notice. But he only got aware that he was staring at her when she turned her head and looked at him, blushing only slightly.

"Jane, what's the matter?" She asked him the second time that evening, her eyes searching his face worriedly.

"You look beautiful in that dress." He said and looked at her lovingly. She blushed and looked to the ground. When their eyes met as she looked up to him again, he could swear he could see so much happiness although she really tried to hide it and it made him feel all giddy.

"Thank you" she whispered.

He felt good, just like the first time he had ever been in love, it tickled on the inside of his stomach.

He smiled at the thought of her being happy and had to fight the strong urge to take her hand.

Although he didn't really know how so he just stood there and looked at her as if she was the most beautiful woman on earth he'd ever seen trying to control his body. He had seen many women before but she was definitely the most beautiful.

The situation got really awkward when Pike and Fisher returned out of nowhere and Fisher once again, looked at Jane as if he wore a neon-pink shirt saying "Look at me, I'm in love with my partner".

He raised an eyebrow at her and spun around to look at some extremely weird artwork, because he didn't want to deal with this again.

"How did the interrogation go? Does he have an alibi?" Lisbon asked nosily.

"He does, but it's fake." Pike answered her, straight business judging by his voice. "he says he has been at home with a friend of his and had watched a football game on TV..."

"Do we have the name of the friend?"

"Yes"

"I've already sent it to Wiley to let him check it." Fisher said as she looked on her phone. "He says there is no David Hall, who could possibly be the suspect's friend. So I guess we have to take him in.". Obviously she had just received a text from their co-worker.

Jane, although he was standing there with his back to them, was listening closely and what he heard didn't really surprise him. It was totally clear that he'd have to do the next hearing, it would be Lisbon's and his turn anyway, and he'd catch the killer soon so they could stop this vacation, because he only enjoyed small parts of it.

There were people passing them and to make the whole couple thing believable Pike got to Lisbon and said: "Honey, how do you like the paintings?" and bowed down to give her a kiss on the cheek and wrapped an arm around her waist.

Of course Jane had turned around now and he didn't like what he saw.

Lisbon was confused too, cause she looked at Pike as if he was some kind of alien that had come to abduct her, but after a few seconds she remembered the agreement of their "love story"

"Oh! They are... good?!" she answered him, not really sure what to say. "They are actually pretty great! The mixture of the colors is done very well."

Jane could here the sarcasm in her voice as she pointed to a picture that was all brown, with a white stripe in the middle.

"This would do great in your bathroom!" Jane added from behind them. He could almost hear Lisbon smirk and had to grin himself.

Fisher had managed to get Jane to walk arm in arm with her and suddenly pulled him to a quiet corner.

He was confused and amused and turned around to look at her. "What.."

"Jane, as a... friend... I need to tell you something."

He raised his eyebrow in surprise.

"You love her! Go and get her! But not right now... we're undercover... but if she does return your feelings, and I can tell you she does, then there is no need to be jealous of special agent Pike at all."

"You say? How would you know?" he was really surprised to get love- tips from the woman that had tried to seduce him some time ago on an island and had almost succeeded.

"Oh all I will say is that a few drinks loosen the tongue... And now let's continue this... But please at least try to act as if we were a couple"

He looked away with a funny feeling, but then took her hand and guided her into the room which got more and more crowded the later it got.

Turns out that is was harder than he thought pretending to be in a relationship with someone who you weren't romantically attracted to in any way and he felt bad for not even trying that hard, but at the moment he just wasn't motivated to act.

After a while Lisbon and Pike seemed to have a really good time and everything inside Jane screamed in protest. He shot them looks several times and every time he did, Lisbon was smiling.

It stung, just like the night before and he couldn't really cope with it, so he buried it, just to get back to it later that night only that the pain hit him with double force then. He needed to change something or he wouldn't be able to get happy again on those holidays.

He couldn't sleep anyway so he texted Lisbon.

_Are you still awake?_

After a short time his phone vibrated.

_Yes I am... I can't sleep._

_Wanna meet and go on a little walk?_

_Ok_


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok here I am again. This chapter is mostly Jisbon fluff, cause I need it right now;) So thanks to all of you for the super nice encouragement and I just wanna let you know that I love reading your messages:) Feel free to continue;)) As always, I hope you like this and have fun reading it:D**

They sneaked out of their rooms around 2am and met on the hallway, both dressed for a walk in the icy cold outside.

She wore her black coat, like always those days and a blue hat with two braids on the side, at the end of the ear flaps and a fluffy bobble on the top.

"Hey" he whispered as he closed the door behind himself.

"Hi" she said and off they went.

"There's a nice lake nearby, maybe 20 minutes away, what do you think?"

"Ok let's go there, it sounds nice" she didn't know he area around here, but a lake sounded good.

When they got out of the building the cold air hit them in the faces like a rush of icy water and made them stop for a moment.

"Brrrr it's so cold!" Lisbon complained, cause neither of them had been prepared for a shock like that.

"We have to move or else we'll freeze to death..." she suggested and Jane could hear the tiredness in her voice, which was understandably after a day like they had had.

"Don't be grumpy beautiful" he told her in a teasing voice, only realizing afterward that he had used a pet name again.

When he looked at her he saw that her cheeks had reddened in the chilly night air and he really had to admit that she looked cute as a button like that. He himself had cold cheeks too, but he was used to it more than her, because since he had gotten his airstream he had been outside for more than half an hour pretty much every day so far. Also his affinity to snow made him cope with the weather better than some other people he knew.

"Ok let's go."

They walked down to the lake in the woods in complete silence, just enjoying the other one's presence. It was peaceful and there was no sound to be heard in the cold of the night. It was as if time had stopped around them and as if they were alone in the whole wide world, just them walking in the snow. The moon was out and the stars shone bright and made them see in the dark of the forest and since there were no leaves on the trees anymore the branches cast long shadows on the frozen ground. The ice glimmered and everything looked like it was covered in a layer of sugar. It just looked magically beautiful.

They reached the lake only twenty minutes later and when they got to see it both had to gasp. The moon was reflected by the water-surface just like a part of the near area of the shore. The picture they saw was more beautiful than they'd ever be able to describe and it got even better when the first few snowflakes made their way down to them.

Their breaths faded as little clouds in the silver light.

They couldn't do anything but stare. After a few minutes Jane reached out took her hand and intervened their fingers. They just stood there, but only that little physical contact made their hearts beat faster.

"It's so beautiful" Lisbon breathed completely overwhelmed.

"It is..." Jane didn't know whether to shoot the cheesy comment he had in mind, but after a really short consideration time he thought he'd just go for it. "...just like you"

He could see that she smiled and he felt her moving besides him and only seconds later she had wrapped her one arm around his waist and rested her head against his shoulder.

"Thank you Jane" she mumbled happily.

They must've been standing there for another half an hour when they decided to go to the hotel again. Their feet were frozen, there was a small amount of snow covering their clothes and they were exhausted, because it was almost 3am and they hadn't been sleeping for more than 18 hours.

Lisbon was already half asleep in his arms so it was a wonder that they both found the way back and arrived safe and sound.

When they parted again in front of their doors Jane hugged her good night and gave her a kiss on the head. They said good night and got in their rooms, quietly so that they wouldn't wake their "partners" up.

Lisbon and Jane would've thought about what had happened, but they were just too tired and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

The next day they got updated on the case by Wiley who had found out a lot. A closer look at he victim from the examiner had showed that there were little particles of DNA under the man's fingernails. There was only one thing they had to do now: get the suspect's DNA as quick as possible. Since this conversation took place at breakfast, Jane poured himself another cup of tea and patiently waited for everyone to finish so that they could start their exciting day. But there was a reason why he was so motivated to solve this case.

After they would've caught the killer Jane would never have to see Pike again and he really was happy about that.

Pike on the other hand was not so happy about the fact that he wouldn't see them again. He had to admit that he had developed a certain attraction to both of the women and since he was singe at the moment and they were both pretty good-looking women, he wanted to give it a try.

Although he hadn't really talked to them yet and didn't really know them at all, he thought that they were nice and clever women already. Someone he could fall in love with easily.

But not only Fisher had noticed what was going on. It was way too obvious what was happening before their eyes. Two people who had been through a lot and had so much baggage were realizing that they had feelings for each other, or more likely were finally starting to act out on them. He didn't know Jane and Lisbon, although he had heard some facts about them from Fisher when they talked about the case before.

She had told him that there was something coming up between the two of them and that he should better not try hitting on Lisbon (that had been a non-professional conversation, of course), but he was not sure whether he would listen to that. He knew that she had been Jane's Boss and the agent that was in charge of the man that killed the serial killer Red John. She had been working as a small-town cop after the escape of Jane and he also knew that the FBI managed to track him down by the letters he had sent to Lisbon for about two years. One a week.

By then he had already known what he felt for her, and after the almost two days they had spent together he knew that she felt the same, which didn't meant that he wouldn't have a chance...

Luckily there were two women and it looked like Kim was single too.

He was yet unsure whether Lisbon or Fisher thought that he was attractive or not, but he really did hope so, because if they didn't anything he'd do would be completely pointless.

Would he dare hitting on either of them? He didn't know yet. Maybe, maybe not...

Jane, still sipping on this one cup of tea tried to guess what Pike was thinking. Was he considering flirting with Lisbon? Was he thinking about hitting on Fisher? Jane could see that he wasn't really concentrated on the breakfast and his cereals, because he seemed to be in deep thoughts.

Maybe he was one of those guys who thought about the purpose of life several times a day, maybe he was just stupid and still had to figure out how to get the last bit of milk out of his bowl... But since he was an actual FBI agent, trained and selected by the government, he couldn't be that dumb.

He tried getting all those thoughts out of his head, so he looked at Lisbon who was sitting there with her beloved coffee in her hands. She still looked tired although she must have slept some hours the last night, if she had indeed slept when they had gotten back. But he was positive that she had, because her level of tiredness had been over the top when they had returned.

She looked up from her cup, straight into his eyes. Those beautiful blue-green eyes that were looking at her lovingly.

She returned the gesture and looked away after a few seconds, because she didn't want Fisher to notice, who was busy with drinking her morning-smoothie anyway. Pike saw it though and figured that he should probably flirt with Fisher since Lisbon was obviously already taken. He considered himself a flexible guy, so that was not a big deal for him. If Jane only knew... Life would be so much easier.

"Hey guys... I want to suggest something..." Fisher said suddenly.

Jane, Lisbon and Pike looked up surprised.

"I have already asked for permission on the thing I am going to say, so please cooperate."

"Always, agent Fisher, always" Jane teased her.

"Since I have noticed that it is not easy for either of us to act out our faked identities I think it would be better to change the partnerships. Since we haven't really talked to anyone as the couples we're supposed to be, I think there wouldn't be any harm done. So our new history: Jane and Lisbon, married, Lisbon is still the critic and Jane still in his mid-life crisis"

Jane rolled his eyes, but looked pretty content about the other things,

"are here with her brother, that's Pike who has been away for several months abroad. This is the first time the siblings have seen each other for half a year, so the hug and kiss on the head are explainable. I am his girlfriend, we have a kid that is watched by our old friend, that's Abbott. Is everyone ok with that?"

Jane found some lacks in the new history, but why should he complain? This was the best thing that could've happened at the moment.

And that was the exact same thing the other two were thinking too.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey again! Thank you all for the super nice reviews!:) I really like the story so far and it seems like it's getting even jisbonier from here...yay:D haha ok so I really hope you like it, let me know what you think and have fun reading:)**

The best thing that could've happened had happened. Jane and Lisbon were a couple now and so were Fischer and Pike. The fun part could start now.

When they were done with the organizing they talked about splitting up and getting the DNA of the stupid murderer, but at first they wanted to change rooms, because it was still quite early and no one would see them now when the two girls swapped men.

A short time later the two guys, both with their bag in the hand, crossed the hallway to their new rooms. Jane winked at Pike, who didn't look that upset either about leaving Lisbon to him. All in all everyone was happy.

In Jane's new room there was also only one big bed, the color was different though and that was a really big contrast to the other bed, because the sheets had the color of dark red cherries. It was a beautiful color and Jane really appreciated the room's touch. It remembered him of something, but he couldn't really say what it was. Another plus point for the room was that the couch looked more comfortable than the last one since there were a few more pillows on it and the whole thing just looked softer.

He placed his bag besides the couch and sat down.

Lisbon was sitting on her bed, legs crossed, watching him curiously, her chin up just like always when she did things like that. It was a cute thing to do and she really looked like a little child sitting there. Her hair was framing her face and she looked as cute as a little chocolate figurine, so sweet he could eat her. Oh what would he do to be able to kiss her right now...

But they had a job for the day and the door to the room was still open, since they'd only planned a quick change of apartments.

Weird, that the door of the room on the other side was closed...

He didn't think about it any more and went to the door to close it.

When they were alone he turned to her.

"Nice room"

"Thank you, I like it, too..." she answered him, still sitting on the bed.

"Sooo... Do you know when we will all meet again?" he asked her interested, because he wanted to know when they would have to get out of the room again.

"Hm I talked to Kim before and she said that we got to get the DNA of Mr. Hammond, the third suspect and also we should interrogate him and if we had done this we were free for tonight. I think she wanted to go out for some pizza, but we don't have to go there too, she said."

"Hmmm that sounds really good! So we could make a movie night, or just spend a nice evening..."

"I'd like that. We can decide later whether it's gonna be movies or not"

"Ok lets go and get that DNA now and then we're free."

They hadn't imagined finding that guy would be that difficult.

At first, the problem was that they didn't know where to find him. All they knew was, that he was cleaning personnel at the hotel and that he had been on duty the night of the murder. When they couldn't find him by wandering through the halls, they got down to the reception and asked the portiere.

He was tall, had black hair and a mustache, that kind of mustache with the twirls on each side. He looked kinda funny and Jane turned his head to the side to see what Lisbon's reaction was. She was smirking like a boss, when she noticed that Jane did the exact same thing.

"Mr..." Lisbon looked at his nameplate "...Stanley, FBI, we need to talk to Mr. Hammond. Could you please tell us where to find him?"

The man looked slightly surprised when Lisbon pulled her badge out of her small bag. They still were in disguise and were dressed pretty casually, so it was no surprise that the man behind the counter was wary about whether they were real cops or not. But he seemed to have a big amount of respect to the FBI so he didn't ask any other questions.

"We're on an undercover-operation..." Jane said so the man got his explanation. Jane could see the curious expression on the man's face dropping.

"Uhm yes sure!" he answered to the earlier asked question. "Hammond you said?"

Lisbon and Jane nodded and Mr. Stanley looked at the screen of the computer that was hidden behind the counter.

"He should be on the second floor somewhere between room 28 and 34 if he cleans them in the order I think he does."

"Thank you, Mr. Stanley, you know that this has to be dealt with secretly, right?"

"Of course... " He answered respectfully.

"Do you think it was him?" Lisbon asked Jane

"Hmm I think we'll see, I mean we haven't talked to him yet..."

"You're right..."

They took the elevator to the second floor and when there were some other people too, Jane slid his arm around her waist and pulled her to his side, smiling happily at all the new possibilities that just now had unfolded before him. He could be her boyfriend and show her how much he loved her without having to give anyone an explanation of what he was doing. So many things to do, so less time.

They exited the elevator and entered the second floor of the big hotel. The hallway looked exactly the same as theirs in the 10th floor.

He looked at the tags on the doors, trying to find room 24-28, which he did after a few seconds, because one of the doors was opened and there was a cleaning wagon standing in front of the room.

"That was quite easy so far" Jane said and looked at Lisbon, his arm was still around her waist. It felt normal, comfortable.

"Don't... it was an easy case..." she whined, because this had happened before. An easy-seeming case had turned really complicated after her super optimistic consultant had said those words.

They entered the room to see a middle aged man in a cleaning uniform, which they had seen some times before in the hotel. It was all black, as it was usual for clothes like that and the personnel had to wear a white tie, the women a white pinny over the black skirt,as a uniform.

Mr. Hammond didn't really fit the picture they had made inside their heads, since they had imagined him being a short, a bit chubby with short hair with a little bit of silver in it.

Mr. Hammond was around 30, muscular and his hair didn't show any signs of silver-grey at all. To be honest he looked pretty hot for cleaning staff. Lisbon just had to admit it.

Jane caught her staring at his ass when he bent down to pick up a Twix wrapper, which made him poking her in the side while he was grinning amused.

"Don't you think he's a bit too young for you? Also, he's not your type." Jane whispered into her ear, while leaning closer.

"My type? How do you know? " she was clearly blushing at his observations and it looked like the cutest thing ever. He loved it so much.

"Later..."

They didn't really think that Hammond would give them the DNA easily, but they had agreed that they wouldn't mention the discovery of the medical examiner to him since he was most likely the killer. Jane was positive that the killer was sure that he had done a remarkable job by not leaving any clues at all, which had been proven wrong by the M.E. Only a few hours before.

With this one, the killer wouldn't have a chance.

"Mr. Hammond? FBI, we are here to talk about the murder that happened a few nights ago in one of the rooms you were cleaning at this time." Lisbon said in her typical Lisbon-FBI-voice, her eyes still wandering over the man's body.

"Uhm.. okay.. what do you want to know? And please try to make it quick, because I have a job to do. " the man answered her in a pressing voice, while he was trying to continue his work by sweeping his cleaning cloth over the couch table, which was perfectly clean already.

"Sir, we're really sorry to disturb your work, but where have you been three days ago at around 10pm?" The approximate time of death was another thing that the Fischer had old them earlier, making their work a lot easier.

"Well, around 10 I was cleaning, and I tell you, it was no fun at all. I mean it's never fun" he added silently while continuing the sweeping, not it was the television's turn.

"Mr. Hammond?" Jane asked him. "Did you know that your wife is having an affair with the guy downstairs?" That was a complete shot in the dark but there was a 50% chance that his plan would work.

Mr. Hammond looked up, right at him and slowly came closer, his eyes glimmering of anger and Jane already saw the punch he was going to throw at him and hit him in the nose. The poor guy started bleeding and staggered backwards until he tripped over the dustbin.

Jane, with the killer's blood on his hands turned to Lisbon, smiled and put his hand in her direction. "Here we go... He wanted to attack me, it was self-defense."

"Riiiight." she had to smile at this stupid, but also really clever man while she put the blood on a napkin and into a evidence-bag.

"Mr. Hammond for now you are arrested for the attempt of hitting an FBI-consultant." Lisbon pulled out the cuffs, manacled the man, called Fischer and then lead both of them down to the reception, where they were already waiting for them.

"Lisbon, Jane, well..." she stopped when she saw that M. Hammond had a bleeding nose and looked like he had nausea. "Do I wanna know?" Fisher asked Lisbon who shook her head in amusement to her reaction "No, I don't think so..."

"Ok your job is done here. We're leaving tomorrow at 2pm after lunch. You can do... what you want now..." she shot them a quick smile and handed the suspect to a FBI-guy to bring him to the headquarters.

Jane and Lisbon left, since Fischer sill had something to discuss with one of the federal people.

"So? What's it going to be? Movies or not?"


	5. Chapter 5

**I am really sorry for the long wait, but school smashed my writing plans like a huge hammer. -.- Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please don't forget to tell me what you think:) **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist or any of the characters. That's really sad... **

"So? What's it going to be? Movies or not?"

Jane and Lisbon were walking down the hall to the elevator to get to their rooms after Fischer had arrested Mr. Hammond. Lisbon looked a bit tired as far Jane could tell, but he didn't mention it. When they arrived at the elevator Lisbon turned to him and got back to their earlier topic.

"Jane I have to say, I'm not really in the mood for movies, I'm sorry. But I feel like... we need to talk... if that's ok ….for you?"

She looked a bit shy while saying this and Jane could see that she tried to not look at him.  
"Oh.. uhm.. of course! Let's talk!"

Jane already had a suggestion made in his mind what all of this could be about and had to admit that talking had highest priority right now.

If they wanted anything to change they'd have to do some hardcore talking or else they would just keep strolling around each other just like the last 12 years or so. He really wanted their relationship to change, had wanted it for years, but he had always known that they both hadn't been ready yet. But now? Now they definitely were. They both had changed so much, gotten wiser, older and had learned what was important to them and what wasn't.

They had had to realize that the importance of love, which was not necessarily physical and intimate, but also could be a huge friendship that was built on trust and sincerity, was having an impact on their daily lives.

Having the person you loved around changes everything, brightens your day and makes your nights more comfortable.

In their case just knowing that they knew where the other one was calmed them down immensely.

Life had gotten better, they felt better.

They exited the elevator and stopped at their door.

Jane and Lisbon opened the apartment and Jane decided to make a cup of tea for them while Libson sat down on the big bed, covered in the red sheets. She looked kind of lost sitting there with her legs crossed, but decided to change into her comfortable clothes only a few seconds after she had sat down. She got up and picked up her pajama and went to the bathroom.

Jane only noticed that she had left when the door closed. He didn't want to be annoying so he put the tea on the little couch table and just sat down on the couch in the bedroom and waited for her. He was already excited about how their conversation would go and what they both would agree on.

Maybe she'd just say that she didn't want him and that he should get out of her life after this case, which was very unrealistically but Jane always had this kinds of doubts, he didn't show them but he definitely had them. He had thought through a second scenario too, which he would absolutely prefer. It involved both of them on the bed, their clothes on the floor. They would make- "Jane, do you know where I put my phone?"

Lisbon came in wearing her red satin pajamas skimming the room for her lost phone. Her hands were removing her ponytail and her hair was falling down in waves of dark hazelnut brown as she walked towards the bed to look between the covers.

"I can't remember you having it with you today, maybe it's in your bag?"

She let out an annoyed sigh and turned to her purse which was standing next to the bed. "There it is!" she pulled out her phone and checked it for messages, grabbed her cup of tea and sat back down on the bed.

As if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Jane looked at her basically checking her out but what could he do! She was just too beautiful to not being looked at.

When she noticed his staring she raised her head and looked at him.

"Jane..." she threw her mobile behind herself and linked her hands in her lap.

"Lisbon I'll start, ok?"

She nodded.

"I...We... can't continue like this. I need you to know what I feel! I know you are not sure about it, and I wasn't either, I didn't know what it meant to love, I didn't know whether it was real. I was so damaged and confused that I didn't realize what... what had happened here."

He looked up to make sure she was still there and saw that there were tears lingering in the corners of her eyes. But she smiled and nodded at him...

"I was stupid, I hurt you and I don't deserve you. You would do everything for me- nearly everything- and like I said already, I don't deserve someone like you, because I stomped on your feelings and I betrayed you. I did so many things I have to make up to you and I want to, I really do. ..."

She was sitting there her fingers wiping the escaped tears from her cheeks and looked like a little girl. "Jane..."

He was pretty choked up too by now and was combing through his hair with his fingers disturbing the blond curls.

"Lisbon... I...I love you!" he whispered almost desperate.

He could see how the shock on her face changed from shock to surprise to happy. She let out a cute little giggle and it threw him back to when he had left her on the beach 2 years ago... He had hated himself for doing it. And even worse, he hadn't even properly apologized.

And then back to shock.

"How...? How are we going to... make this... work?"she breathed.

"I don't know but we will if we both want it. Do you want it to work?"

She stared at her hands and answered him shyly.

"Of course I do!"

"There is no one and nothing that could keep us apart, no rules, no threats and no fear. I think we should at least give it a try! We should make it work! We..."

Lisbon got up to the bed and closed the distance between them in only a few seconds.

He was standing in front of the couch and she just bashed into him wrapping her arms around him.

When he looked at her he felt as if there were thousands of butterflies in his stomach flying around like crazy and his heart beat faster than anytime before.

"Jane..." She leaned in and pulled his face down to hers. Digging her hands into his blond curls she hesitated a few seconds before she finally closed the distance between them.

She could smell his natural cologne and felt like home when they kissed. The kiss was hot and hungry, what else should it be after 12 years (or a bit less)of sexual frustration and it got them caught up. They couldn't stop... didn't want to stop.

Jane moaned when Lisbon slid her hand down his body trying to unbutton his shirt. They didn't need to talk, their bodies moved in perfect sync and they moved to the bed, Jane grabbing her by her hips and placing her on the bed. While he started unbuttoning her pajama she still was busy with his shirt, because damn, this thing had a lot of buttons!


End file.
